If you’re like many other people here in Frederick, you make the trek South on 270 towards DC/Rockville/Northern Virginia, or East on 70 towards Baltimore up to 5 days each week. That can be easily more than an hour commute in the morning and then another hour in the afternoon.
If you live in Frederick and travel to Northern Virginia five days per week, that’s about 45 miles each way, and an hour or so each way. Unless you’ve somehow achieved the “perfect driving posture“, you will want to keep reading.
That’s 90 miles/day and 2 hours in the car. If you sleep for 8 hours and eat for one hour each day, then work for 8 hours, that leaves you with 5 hours to actually have a life each day after accounting for your commute. Most of those 5 hours is cooking, cleaning, shopping/errands, and perhaps some relaxing (if you don’t have kids).
That’s 450 miles/week and 10 hours in the car.
That’s 1,800 miles/month and 40 hours in the car.
That’s 21,600 miles/year and 480 hours in the car.
For some added perspective, the amount of time in your commute each year is equal to 12 weeks of full-time work, or 12 one-week vacations. For a typical full-time worker with that commute, you are spending one entire workweek of time in the car commuting every single month. Your commute tacks on a 25% time tax to your actual workday.
We can all agree that too much time in the car, especially in stressful traffic is not a good thing for the spirit.
The best we can do, in that case, is to try to make sure we are using good posture during those 40 hours per month and 480 hours per year.
So, let’s review some basics of driving posture.
Prevent “Text Neck”: If you catch your chin jutting forward—especially in heavy traffic when concentrating or just getting angry—gently pull your chin straight back and press your head into the headrest. It’s like trying to make a double chin. Do a set of 10 presses back into the headrest and then keep your head there.
Avoid the “One-Armed Lean”: Resting one elbow on the center console tilts your spine and rotates your shoulders. Keep your weight symmetrical. Don’t just lean on the window/door, either. Mix it up a bit.
Relax Your Shoulders: Set the steering column low enough so you do not have to lift your arms above shoulder level, which causes upper back and neck strain. Actually think about whether or not your shoulders are up or down. In fact, let them drop If they drop, they were being held up by your muscles.
Use the Dead Pedal: Utilize the vehicle’s angled footrest (dead pedal) to support your left leg and keep your pelvis squarely aligned, rather than letting your legs splay outward. The more symmetry you can get with your posture, the less likely the hips will be hurting.
There are a lot of ways we can each improve our commute. Let’s be honest, no one is perfect. No one has perfect posture. No one has a perfect commute.
If you have to climb out of the car as you pull into the driveway or into your office, and your first ten steps are “limpy” and painful, then perhaps you should drop by our office or give us a call. Not only can we assess your driving posture and offer some cues and advice on how to improve your commute, we can treat the hips and shoulders and neck and get some of that tension and pain taken care of.
If you’ve never been to a chiropractor before, consider making us your first! If you’re really not sure, ask around and find one of our thousands of local Frederick patients and ask them about their experience.